Paddington in Peru has a couple of royal surprises in store, including a brief King Charles III appearance to coincide with a glimpse of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
With support from the Royal Family and a long history between the Paddington brand and the monarchy, the filmmakers were given special permission to use their likeness in the new movie, which opens in the U.K. on Nov. 8, 2024, and the U.S. on Jan. 17, 2025.
King Charles’ Paddington in Peru cameo
Charles appears in Paddington 3 in a quick shot of an envelope. Paddington receives a letter at the Brown family home and is handed a letter from his Aunt Lucy. According to Hello, the stamp on Lucy’s letter features a front-facing portrait of King Charles.
Elizabeth’s cameo comes later in the film and is done via an image of her and Paddington sitting down for tea at Buckingham Palace. The still is pulled from a short film made for her Platinum Jubilee celebration in 2022.
Producer Rosie Alison told Variety the royal family was generous to allow the film to use the images. “They were actually very happy for it to happen,” she said, “but we don’t like to make a big deal of it, because Paddington’s obviously a very modest fellow.”
The Royals love Paddington
Given how prevalent our favorite marmalade-loving bear is in British pop culture, it comes as no surprise that just about every major royal family member has interacted with him at some point.
From Elizabeth’s tongue-in-cheek tea party to Kate dancing in the street with a life-sized version at Paddington Station in 2017, he’s everywhere. There’s even a photo of Queen Camilla surrounded by stuffed bears on the 64th anniversary of the first Paddington book in 2022.
Paddington is so synonymous with them that many bears were left out as tributes when Elizabeth passed.
What you need to know about the new movie
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Paddington in Peru features some huge changes from the first two films, mainly that of a recast. The endearing Sally Hawkins has been swapped out for Emily Mortimer. The Shape of Water Oscar winner wanted to explore other avenues instead of revisiting her role as the Brown matriarch for a third time.
In June 2023 she told Variety, “For me, it has felt the right time to hand the reins over to another, and one can’t get much better than the truly wonderful Emily Mortimer, she is extraordinarily special. She will embody the essence of Mary Brown and yet make it utterly her own. However, I am, and will always be in love with Paddington’s world.”
Even though Hawkins’ bubbly quality and warming screen presence will surely be missed, Mortimer is a British cinema staple who is fully capable of filling those shoes. To make matters more palatable, the threequel has also added the amazing Olivia Colman to the mix.
As for the plot, the story follows the Brown family’s trip to Peru to visit Aunt Lucy, who has been a tear-jerking staple in the series. Not much time is spent in the U.K. before the adventure begins, but there’s enough time for two royal cameos.